Special Exhibition "Novera" celebrating the legacy of Sculptor Novera Ahmed (Source: Bangladesh National Museum)

Novera Ahmed is widely regarded as the torchbearer of modern sculpture in East Bengal. During the 1960s, when formal institutional education in sculpture was non-existent in the then East Pakistan, her work won first prize at the National Art Exhibition of Pakistan in 1961–62. It was only two to three years later that a dedicated department of sculpture was established at the Dhaka Art College. Born with an innate genius for the arts, this exceptionally talented artist was honored by the Government of Bangladesh with the 'Ekushey Padak', the country's highest state accolade, in 1997.

Her ancestral home was in the North Para of Askar Dighi in Chittagong. Due to the professional postings of her father, Syed Ahmed, who worked in the Sundarbans region, she spent her childhood in Kolkata and matriculated from the Loreto School there. Following the partition of the subcontinent, she moved to East Pakistan with her family in 1947, studying first at Comilla Victoria College and later at Chittagong College. In 1951, she enrolled in the sculpture department at the renowned Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts in London, earning her diploma in 1955. During her studies, she traveled to Florence, Italy, in 1954 alongside the celebrated artist Hamidur Rahman to study under the famous Italian sculptor Venturi.

Novera returned to Dhaka in 1956 with Hamidur Rahman. When construction began on the Central Shahid Minar—the symbol of Bangladesh's national consciousness—in 1957, Novera Ahmed played a crucial role as Rahman's primary collaborator. However, the work was temporarily suspended when martial law was imposed in 1958. That same year, she installed an outdoor courtyard sculpture titled "Cow and Two Figures" at the residence of an industrialist in the Tejgaon industrial area. On August 7, 1960, her first solo sculpture exhibition was held at the Central Public Library, jointly organized by the Pakistan United Nations Association and the Asia Foundation. Later, at the invitation of the renowned poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, she traveled to Lahore, where her sculpture "Child Philosopher" won the first prize at the All Pakistan Painting and Sculpture Exhibition in 1961.

Special Exhibition "Novera" celebrating the legacy of Sculptor Novera Ahmed (Source: Bangladesh National Museum)

This towering figure of Bangladeshi modern art passed away in Paris on May 6, 2015, bringing an end to her nearly 45-year life in exile. The ongoing exhibition at the National Museum offers a unique opportunity for the new generation to rediscover this legendary artist who profoundly shaped the history of modern sculpture in Bengal.